Secondary Schools Day
Join us for the renowned Secondary Schools Day at Byron Writers Festival, held at the festival site in Bangalow.
Through engaging sessions, students will be invigorated by rich conversations about writing and storytelling, fantasy worlds and outer space, inner demons and strange spirits, human reckonings and inspiring futures.
Featuring YA authors Lili Wilkinson and Graham Akhurst, comedian Steph Tisdell, astrophysicist Lisa Harvey-Smith and short story writer Mykaela Saunders, students will enjoy their own Byron Writers Festival experience with author signings, books available to buy, as well as food and drink options.
Learn among the trees at the Bangalow Showgrounds for Byron Writers Festival’s Secondary School Day, tailored for high school students of any grade level.
Thursday 8 August 2024
Bangalow Showground
10am – 2pm
Schedule
| Time | Activity |
| 9:15am – 10:00am | Arrive at venue |
| 10:10am – 10:40am | Graham Akhurst in conversation with Rhianna Patrick |
| 10.40am – 11:10am | Lili Wilkinson |
| 11:10am – 11:30am | Morning tea break and book signings with Graham and Lili |
| 11:30am – 11:45am | Southern Cross University Student Writing Prize presentation |
| 11:45am – 12:15pm | Steph Tisdell in conversation with Merinda Dutton |
| 12:15pm – 12:45 pm | Lisa Harvey-Smith |
| 12:45pm – 1:00pm
1:00pm – 1:30pm 1:30pm – 1:45pm 2:00pm |
Afternoon tea break and book signings with Steph and Lisa
Mykaela Saunders in conversation with Rhianna Patrick Book signing with Mykaela Buses depart festival |
Cost
Secure your spot for Schools Day now! Simply book and pay with your credit card or request invoice at checkout.
Pricing
Students – $25 per student (plus booking fee).
Teachers – Free (1 per 10 students).
Additional Adults/Parents – $35 (plus booking fee).
Limited subsidised places are available for eligible schools. Please get in touch to find out more via [email protected]
Meet the Authors
Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson is the award-winning author of nineteen books for young people, including The Erasure Initiative and A Hunger of Thorns. Lili has a PhD from the University of Melbourne, and is a passionate advocate for YA and the young people who read it, establishing the Inky Awards at the Centre for Youth Literature, State Library of Victoria. Her latest book is Deep is the Fen.
Graham Akhurst
Graham Akhurst is a Kokomini writer who grew up in Meanjin. He is the author of Borderland published by UWAP. As a Fulbright Scholar, Graham took his love for writing to New York City, where he studied for an MFA in Fiction at Hunter College. He is the Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges at UTS.
Lisa Harvey-Smith
Lisa Harvey-Smith is an award-winning astronomer, science communicator and Professor at the University of New South Wales. In 2018 she was appointed as the Australian Government’s Ambassador for Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). She is the author of The Secret Life of Stars, Little Book, BIG Universe, Aliens and Other Worlds, When Galaxies Collide and best-selling children’s book Under the Stars.
Steph Tisdell
Steph Tisdell is a proud Ydinji woman. Her warmth and wit has been a hit with audiences and critics alike ever since she won the 2014 Deadly Funny National Grand Final. Her award-winning shows always sell out and she’s a regular on mainstream television shows such as Hughesy We Have a Problem and The Project. Her debut novel is The Skin I’m in, a hilarious, poignant, feisty YA novel.
Mykaela Saunders
Mykaela Saunders is the author of Always Will Be (UQP 2024), which won the David Unaipon Award, and the editor of This All Come Back Now, the Aurealis Award-winning, world-first anthology of blackfella speculative fiction (UQP 2022). Mykaela has won other prizes for fiction, poetry, life writing and research, including the Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize and the Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize.
Key Information
- Program designed for students in years 7 to 12
- Gates open at 9:30am for first session beginning 10:15am
- On-site bus parking available (weather permitting)
- Open seating; students free to move between marquees
- No supervision provided by festival staff
- Food and beverages available for purchase
- Authors available for book signings and books are available for purchase from the book shop
- Stay hydrated with our free water station; bring your water bottle!
Secondary Schools Day is proudly supported by:
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